


animals like me

by howrseluvar



Category: Bandom, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic At The Disco
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Gen, High School!Panic, Supernatural Elements, Work In Progress, modern!MCR
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-01
Updated: 2012-10-04
Packaged: 2017-11-13 07:34:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 11,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/501024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/howrseluvar/pseuds/howrseluvar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are advantages and disadvantages to being a werewolf, Spencer knew this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. slave to the moon

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Kick Me Like a Stray](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/11230) by casesandcaps. 



> This is my FIRST fanfic!  
> So let's be honest, I haven't really decided much on where this is going to go. I'm just gonna let the muse take me! I'll warn you, I have a wicked talent for rambling...so yeah. Work in progress! Tags can change at any time, so this will be crazy, but yeah! Enjoy!  
> so, an author named CasesandCaps on Livejournal sort of encouraged me to get into writing with her amazing work. Seriously, google it. I'm finally actually figuring out how to use Ao3, so I can use the "inspired by" thing. lol.
> 
> OH , last thing. I made a character reference. I wouldn't recommend clicking this until chapter seven, but I can't stop you.  
> [amimals like me by *howrseluvar at DeviantART](http://howrseluvar.deviantart.com/art/animals-like-me-325542364)

There were advantages and disadvantages to being a werewolf, Spencer knew this.

Advantage: You have the senses of a superhuman. 

Disadvantage: Those same senses gave a killer headache on the three full moon days.

And oh god, was it ever killer. Spencer, using the computer he sat behind in the dim library as cover, quite literally slammed his face into the keyboard as he groaned, rubbing at his temples. Seriously, the clicking and clacking of hundreds of keys a minute, amplified, not to mention the kid three seats over on the other side was playing his heavy metal music WAY too loudly (even IN headphones!), the library lights flickering on the verge of going out, and more than three spritzes of the cinnamon apple perfume was a little too much, all combined to make one nasty, nasty migraine. He felt a flick on his shoulder and jumped reflexively, forgetting who sat next to him. Brendon eyed him inquisitively, one of those silent looks that totally gave away what he was thinking.

“Just sick,” Spencer mumbled, hating to lie, but Brendon had no clue. 

Brendon turned and continued to zoom through his research paper – seriously, his fingers flew over the keyboard – while Spencer sat in almost silent agony, literally hearing the seconds tick by on the clock. As soon as the bell rang- which nearly rendered him crippled just by how loud the damned thing was- Spencer grabbed his backpack and bolted out the door without a second glance. 

As soon as he got home, Spencer threw his backpack down by the door on the floor – which would definitely get him chastised later, but he didn’t care at this point. He stripped off the black t-shirt he had, leaving him in just black jeans. Spencer attacked the pantry next, grabbing one of the few large beef jerky sticks kept on hand for these occasions. The Advil bottle wasn’t left out either as Spencer took three – he wasn’t really worried about an overdose considering how his body would just burn through it anyways. Stupid high metabolism. 

He couldn’t settle down – it was sort of physically impossible, with how antsy these days made him. Then he got the text. Spencer bolted up to his room as he read it, announcing the traditional pack dinner. Gerard tried to feed them well before they shifted for the night, otherwise you’d have a bunch of ravenous moon-crazed werewolves in a basement and that was almost guaranteed to go wrong. He grabbed the black drawstring bad he kept and extra set of clothes in, stuffed his phone in, and set the note explaining the “monthly sleepover”. His mother didn’t care where he went so long as he wasn’t failing anything. Spencer attempted to walk calmly out the door, but he was just shaking so much. He put the shirt back on – even if he knew he’d just be stripping it right back off as soon as he hit Gerard’s door.

Gerard owned a fairly large house. How he afforded it was a mystery, but it had four- four!- bedrooms and a large basement. As far as Spencer knew, only he and Mikey stayed there permanently, even though Frank was always getting himself into trouble and needing a place for the night, so the house almost had three permanent residents. Spencer invited himself in- no doubt one of them had known he was there before, anyway- and closed the door behind them. The appealing smell of meat filled the house – only degraded by whatever the hell Frank’s choice of vegan was for the night – and Spencer’s stomach growled in protest. Ray arrived right after he did and dinner was served two minutes after. All of them were silent as they ate, but all were bare-chested and you could see them fidget. They gathered in the living room, still silent as they waited. It was just like every other month, but on full moon nights, you just wanted to shift, get it over with already, but they were the only nights of the month you were a slave to the moon. Gerard had the remarkable ability to stand there patiently even as his pack wanted to crawl out of their skin as they just waited. These were the longest minutes. As the Alpha, Gee had to watch for the first one to show the shift was happening. 

The sun was just about to fully skink over the horizon thirty minutes later when Frank hissed, and everyone’s eyes snapped over to him. His eyes shone the dull metallic gold and Gerard just nodded, taking his arm. Spencer, Ray, and Mikey followed him and took their bags, and Spencer did Frank the favor of grabbing his bag. Spencer then felt it in him – just something changed, he couldn’t quite explain it, and Ray glanced at him and nodded. They descended the basement stairs, throwing their bags of clothes into a cabinet, and Ray locked the door behind them. Mikey was the next to feel it, but he just grit his teeth. Mikey’s eyes were only dotted with gold, accentuating the green. Ray was next, but simply blinked – as the Beta, he had some of the same advantages as Gerard, which included more tolerance of the moon. 

Frank was panting with the effort, and Spencer was really starting to feel the ache. All werewolves’ transformations were painful – they eased up after a while, but it took many, many years or Alpha status to have any real significant lessening of the pain. New werewolves felt like they were going to die, werewolves that had been going at it for a while felt the pain slip as the years went on. Spencer had been shifting for six years – he was seventeen now, an early bloomer in the werewolf world- and Spencer really hadn’t seen much of a change. He wasn’t on the verge of death, but shifting put everybody through some degree of pain.

The transformations of everyone spanned a good fifteen minutes – it wasn’t instant like some stories claimed. Fifteen minutes of yelps, yells, growls, and hisses had brought five different wolves locked into a basement together.

\---

Sometimes, it was a blissful thing not to have memories of a full moon night. Nobody but Gerard could remember what happened last night, even Ray could only remember snippets. If it said anything by how Mikey ended up with a rapidly healing bite-mark on his shoulder and Spencer himself noticed a massive bruise on his side, something didn’t agree last night. They slipped on their clothes and got themselves out of the basement, greeted by the smell of breakfast burritos being cooked. Gerard was always the first one up and out if it was safe to do so, and he wouldn’t leave his pack going hungry – never. He could be such a…well…a pack mother sometimes. Three burritos were doled out to each lycan (Except for Frankie, he had some sort of protein-oatmeal mash) and they gathered around the table again and dug in. Spencer thought it was going to be a silent meal until Gerard spoke up.

“We need another wolf,”

Spencer very nearly choked on his burrito.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll get the answers to a lot of your questions, don't worry!  
> Well, maybe. You can post them down below and I can take them into account when writing for the future. I'll appreciate light criticism, but try not to be too harsh because mind you, this is my first work. <3


	2. compulsed

He wasn’t the only one. All of the table but Ray looked at him with shock. Gee kept his authoritive pose.

“Stump sent us another threat. He’s found another wolf for his pack,” Gerard explained. Frank’s eyes dropped and Spencer felt a twinge of pity – Patrick had been his best friend. However, two packs rarely got along, and Frank hadn’t known until it was too late. The pack division made them enemies now. 

Patrick Stump was the Alpha of another local pack – they went to a different school, but the pack’s lands bumped right into each other with only a slim neutral ground. The two packs had equal numbers before. Patrick had Pete Wentz, Andy Hurley, Joe Trohman, and Jon Walker. Apparently, they’d found another, giving Partick’s pack larger numbers and a bigger chance to attack and kill or drive out Gerard’s. It was just the way their packs went as they fought for dominance. Some new kid that had moved into their side of town, named Ryan Ross, was apparently a werewolf too. 

Gerard was nonchalant about the whole thing, but it wasn’t exactly a subject that was talked about. They needed to find somebody new and fast, but Spencer knew for a fact there were no more born weres in their territory. Which meant – Spencer with nearly sick with the idea – somebody would have to be turned. The real problem was the ones who best survived being turned were kids Spencer’s age. Highschoolers. 

Gerard had left it at that and Spencer really had to get to school, he was barely going to make it. He had to run home to grab his bag and speed through the streets just to run in and be in his desk in Geometry as the still-deafening bell rang. He tried to focus but he kept worrying. Tonight was the peak of the moon, the very optimal time to bite a newbie. Spencer was no alpha, but Gerard had to be busy, and Spencer really was powerless to stop him. Still, he fretted over who it would possibly be. Spencer mostly kept to himself, only talked to his teachers and a few people. Really, he barely knew anybody at the school, but still: what if it was somebody he knew?

\-----------------------------

BRENDON POV

Brendon loved the morning walk to school. It passed right by a large, thickly grown forest and had very few cars or houses. He walked at his usual pace in grey Converse, an off-white tee-shirt, an unbuttoned wrinkled blue dress shirt with the sleeves pushed up, and a pair of khaki shorts. Bobbing his head and moving his feet to the beat of “Don’t Stop Believing”, he was pretty much in his own world. He had another mile to cover until he got to school, though, but plenty of time.

He hadn’t heard it. He’d barely seen it. A large…something flew through the air and Brendon was tackled to the ground, and as he put his arms up reflexively to protect his face, he felt a searing pain in his left arm. Whatever it was go off of him but stared at him – wow, damn…a huge wolf. Probably rabid, they never attacked humans and especially not during daylight. Or something like that, Brendon couldn’t say he paid attention in Biology. But it was just _staring_ at him. Feeling a surge of panic, Brendon scrambled up and just started running for school. The nurse, she could take care of him. The wolf growled but otherwise stayed where he was and Brendon didn’t look back again.

\-----------------------------

SPENCER POV

Spencer kept looking. Whoever it was would have to be taken out of here. They were only going to be a danger. In the hallways, his eyes flickered back and forth as he sniffed – everyone. From afar, of course. He just hadn’t found the werewolf yet. Spencer sat down with three of the school hamburgers – not real, by the way- and was well into his first when Brendon came to his normally empty table, sliding his yellow tray full of…was that spaghetti?...next to Spencer. Spencer found this odd, because normally, Brendon was the social butterfly. Sure he knew Brendon pretty well, he just didn’t sit with him normally. His eyes must’ve given the question away, and Brendon shrugged, but Spencer noticed the wince he made. 

“You looked lonely…and I just feel…. _compulsed_..or something.” Brendon stumbled.

They sat in awkward silence for three minutes as Spencer tore through his hamburgers, trying to ignore the pain. It was starting to come back with a vengeance now- it was noon and there was only a few hours until the moon. Spencer noticed Brendon wasn’t moving his left arm much and finally noticed the bandage covering it. He barely got his hamburger swallowed before he was literally blurting out,

“Brendon, what happened?”

Brendon looked surprised at his impulsiveness. “Uh..Bogart got playful,” Okay, that was lame. Bogart was really too small to get him all the way up there, he’d have to be kneeling to have a chance of getting bit, and Bogart totally didn’t do that.

Spencer knew now. He could smell it. He could smell Gerard, as faint as it was being covered by rubbing alcohol. Without thinking, he skimmed his hand over it, feeling the rather small punctures. Healing, he was healing like a werewolf. Already. 

Much to the shock of Spencer was Brendon’s reaction to being touched. He convulsed, no joke, and Spencer had to grab at him to make sure he didn’t fall over and attract attention to himself. 

“Oh, fuck Brendon. Fuck.” He cursed, and waited for Brendon to settle. He grabbed at Brendon’s good arm, literally tugging him out of the lunchroom and to his locker despite his protests. “Grab what you need. We’re getting out of here. _Now._ ” Spencer snapped, still ignoring the aching pain in his head, but it was making him grumpy. Brendon had to be in pain, if his trembling body said anything. Brendon obeyed though, and grabbed only his phone. Spencer dragged him again, taking off at a run as he went out the side exits. While he was slowed down by Brendon, they were out of the risk-of-being-caught zone fairly quickly. 

“Gerard!” Spencer half-yelled, half-growled when they approached his solitary house in the woods, smack-dab in the middle of pack territory. He kept dragging Brendon as he made the front door fly open, and Spencer didn’t think about closing it. Oops, it probably put a dent in the closet behind it, supernatural strength became a little too normal when he got mad. A confused, disoriented, and shaking Brendon hid behind Spencer.

Gerard remained all cool, red hair falling just like it normally did, as he folded his arms and stared back at Spencer. Ray stood behind him, and two other pairs of curious eyes looked around from the couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yes, I split Panic up and made them enemies. How evil I am. This combines a high school age Panic with a modern MCR, (look-wise) but eh, whatever.  
> If you were curious, I'm using these pictures for inspiration:
> 
> http://www.loghome.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Whitmann_log_home_livingRm.jpg
> 
> http://www.mountainmeadowshomestead.com/retreat/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/kitchen-log-cabin.jpg


	3. hey, brendon

“It had to be Brendon. Just had to.” Spencer growled, clutching the edge of the island. If he wasn’t grabbing onto that, there was a very good chance he’d probably do something he’d regret. The fact this was a full moon night – the peak of the moon- wasn’t helping his temper any.

“He was walking alone,” Gerard deflected. “You think I know who you socialize with?”

“Dammit, Gerard, this one actually HAS a life!” he raised his voice.

“Cool it, Spencer,” Gerard’s tone descended, but the order was no less obligatory and Spencer took a deep breath. Gerard was right, Brendon was in earshot. He’d given Brendon over to Ray’s care with the promise Ray wouldn’t say anything yet. “He can still have a life, just not for three days of the month,” Gerard said in a matter-of-fact tone that still leaked authority.

“He’ll talk,” Spencer tried one last time.

“That’s what you’re going to make sure dosen’t happen,” Gerard stated. “I’m sure you want the honors of talking to him,” Gerard gestured to the living room. 

Spencer plucked the very large Advil bottle Gerard kept on hand and swallowed two of the pills dry for himself. He then took it out for himself and when Brendon looked up, tossed the bottle to him and Brendon caught it, examining the label before taking two of them himself. Ray was sitting next to him on the couch, but Mikey took his other side and was the one holding the trembling Brendon. Spencer was left awkwardly standing in the middle of the living room with Gerard behind him, and he could feel Gerard staring at him. Spencer swallowed.

“Hey, Brendon,” he started, lamely. Brendon barely turned his head – oh god, there were actually tear stains on his face and it was just so hard to see him like this. Nobody in this room could judge Brendon though, they’d all gone through this. “I know you’re confused. I know you’re in pain.” Actually, all but Gerard were in pain, the headaches were pretty bad, if the Advil bottle being passed around to everyone said anything. Brendon would be the worst though, pains would rack his whole body as the werewolf gene locked its place, and it would only intensify by a ton whenever sunset came. 

“Why am I here?” he trembled out, and oh man he looked so tiny and vulnerable right now.

Spencer swallowed again. “I know Bogart didn’t bite you. Large dark brown wolf with green eyes, right?” Spencer said, a hint of annoyance in his voice directed to Gerard.

Brendon looked surprised. “Huge. Ridiculously huge,” he said. Spencer could almost feel Gerard holding back a smile. “How’d you know?”

Spencer rocked on his feet. “That’s the thing…um, there’s no easy way to put this,” Not that Spencer was a master with words in the first place. “He’s...sorta standing behind me.” Wow, that was probably one of the worst ways.

Brendon’s look of confusion only intensified. It was so silent in the room, you could hear a pin drop. Well, anybody in this room could hear a pin drop, technically.   
Brendon took a minute, but then piped up with a disbelieving laugh, “Can I have whatever you’re on?”

Spencer snorted. “You do. It’s called _lycanthropy_.”

“Sounds more like a disease,”

Spencer was now getting frustrated. Okay, his temper was being tampered with by the moon, but still. “Fuck, Brendon. That bite? You’re a werewolf now. All of us here are werewolves,”

Brendon visibly trembled at the sound of his risen voice and seemed to shrink into Mikey even more.

“Subtle,” Frank sarcastically commented under his breath.

Spencer was now standing awkwardly because he just didn’t know what to say. Gerard rolled his eyes and walked over to kneel on one knee in front of Brendon. Woah, wait...he just _knelt?_ Maybe Gerard was becoming a pack mother after all. Gerard could make any one of them kneel in front of him, and it was sort of...submissive.

“Look at me,” Gerard commended. He was the Alpha, he’d bitten Brendon. Brendon looked up, but his eyes gave away his pain and his confusion. Gerard didn’t like nonsense. “You’re a werewolf. And for the next three hours, Spencer is going to be your ‘Werewolves for Dummies’ guide. You’re going to ask him anything you want,” Gerard’s eyes trailed over to Spencer, “and he’s going to answer. Everything.” Spencer groaned, but he couldn’t disobey an Alpha order. It was just impossible. 

Three hours. Just three. He could probably manage.


	4. werewolves for dummies

Three hours got really long. They were just over two now and Spencer was tired of answering questions. It took every ounce of patience he had not to snap, and well…those ounces were small today. 

“How long does it take to like…change?” 

“You asked me this an hour ago. For you? Somewhere around half an hour,”

“No, for you,”

“Fifteen minutes,”

Brendon wouldn’t stop moving. While they were all antsy, he was nearly exploding. Right now, he was simultaneously drumming on his legs, shaking, wincing every so often at the pain that shot though him, and his eyes never stayed on Spencer. They kept darting out the window. Only an hour until dinner, because they had to start early due to the unpredictableness of Brendon’s transformation. 

“How long have you been changing?”

“I told you this an hour and a half ago. Six years.” 

“Six years of this?”

“It…gets better. Eventually.”

Spencer gave a glare to Gerard. Gerard was the one to change, why couldn’t he have done this? Gerard continued to prepare the steaks without sparing any glance at Spencer. He was listening in on the conversation.

“What’s that rattle?”

“The air conditioning. I know, it’s annoying as fuck.”

They discovered that Brendon already had very acute senses, which was expected of a werewolf, but Spencer thought it happened after the first shift. Actually, Spencer was learning a lot about new werewolves. He knew the look right before-

Brendon’s mouth opened in a silent scream and Spencer quickly moved to place a forearm on his legs to press down on them and his other hand grabbed his wrists just as Brendon convulsed, arching up and unintentionally trying to fight Spencer off, but Spencer grit his teeth and held him down with all his power. As soon as he slumped down on the couch, Spencer let him go. He had these attacks, which Gerard apparently perceived to be normal. Brendon was the only wolf in the group not born into this life, and DNA apparently didn’t like sharing with the werewolf gene. Spencer hadn’t known this, but he was having to hold Brendon down more frequently now as time passed. 

Brendon’s eyes fluttered open ten seconds later, and Spencer was relieved to see they were still normal. Of course, they were. The sun hadn’t set yet. “I’m sorry,” Brendon said softly, and the poor thing, he was on the verge of tears again. He hadn’t been through hell yet though.

“It’s okay, Brendon. It’s okay,” Spencer murmured. The smell of smoke wafted through the house, enhanced by the juicy, sizzling meat on the grill outside. It made Spencer lick his lips in anticipation, and Brendon seemed a little more alert.

“So if Gerard and Mikey are related…why is Ray the Beta?” Brendon had a knack for learning names fast.

“Ray had shifted before Mikey did and claimed the spot. Sort of,” besides, sibling sharing leadership was probably not a good idea. While Gee and Mikey didn’t have any sort of sibling rivalry, you just never fully got along with your family.

Spencer could feel hour three finally hit its mark. He exhaled with relief. It didn’t mean Brendon couldn’t question him, but it meant he wasn’t totally obligated to answer. 

“You totally have to obey Gerard?”

“We all do. I mean, we still have free will and all, but he can make us do anything,” Spencer wanted to add something snappy like _and he doesn’t mind doing so_ , but he wisely held his tongue. It was just the combination of the antsiness waiting for the shift, the migraine, and the battering of questions he just had to answer making him grumpy. 

Gerard finally came in with the plate full of steaks, all cooked rare. There wasn’t even a call to dinner, everybody could smell it and came from the spots they had scattered to to sit at the breakfast bar. Spencer couldn’t tell why they just didn’t sit at the table tonight, but apparently, the breakfast bar was more appealing.

It was natural to assume rank. Just some instinct thing. Gerard sat at the far left, Ray sat to his right, then Mikey, then Spencer, then Frank, which put Brendon at the far right. Spencer had to hope Brendon didn’t have an attack during dinner, because Frank probably couldn’t hold him down. Brendon had a few inches on him. Brendon poked at the meat for a second, like he wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be this pink, but took a bite and then positively attacked it. Like, taking way-too-large mouthfuls of it attacking it. The rest of them were a little more civilized in eating, but still finished in record time. Nothing like lycanthropy to make you hungry. 

So Spencer had to admit he was looking forward to the silence that would follow. What he hadn’t thought about was just how much of a chatterbox Brendon was. Seriously, he could talk anybody’s ear off. Though they could visibly see the pain Brendon was going through, he was a trooper. The sun was just about to go down when Gerard spoke up. 

“Ray, Mikey, and Frank,” he addressed, but it wasn’t a suggestion to look at him. “I’m releasing you outside. You _will_ stay five hundred feet away from the border at all times. You _will not_ attack any human,” All three nodded. The Alpha command had an amazing ability to be permanent even while shifted. All went out the back door and left Gerard, Spencer, and Brendon behind. Spencer envied them being able to go and run. They were told to keep from the border to keep them safe from Stump, even if Patrick would be….rather preoccupied. 

Brendon still didn’t stop talking.

“I mean, I totally remember watching Teen Wolf, it was SO the cheesiest 80’s movie. I mean, dude, we don’t get that hairy, do we? I wouldn’t look good hairy,”  
Spencer grit his teeth. He told Brendon already they were either human, or totally wolf. There was no in-between. And honestly, was he really bringing up the werewolf movies he knew about? Thank God he didn’t bring up Twilight yet.

“-and come on, Lon Chaney Jr. is amazing. The Wolfman fucking scared me,” Spencer personally didn’t find it all that scary, though. “Not to mention Claude-“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I think a pairing tag might be going up soon.....


	5. silver

Brendon’s voice totally cut out. Time seemed to slow down as Gerard and Spencer processed what was happening before an actual yell sounded across the house. Brendon was already thrashing when they got to him. Gerard grabbed one arm and mercilessly twisted it behind Brendon’s back. Spencer hated to, but did the same. Brendon flat-out growled, opening his eyes to revel his eye color: silver. Everybody had different eyes, but Brendon had a faint silver tint to them. Spencer had never heard of any wolf having silver, though. Gerard’s slight shock was unmistakable, but the crazed werewolf sort of overtook everything as he thrashed. Spencer worked with Gerard to get Brendon to the basement, then quite literally had to bear-hug Brendon as Gerard locked the door behind them.

Seventeen minutes later, a sweet-sheened, half-shifted, trembling and panting Brendon was curled up in the fetal position on the ground. Brendon wasn’t quiet, but he wasn’t thrashing much either. But his yells had turned into the occasional full-out scream. He cried. He’d thrown up twice. It was so much to watch and Spencer felt just so bad for Brendon. 

He didn’t just feel sorry though. He felt scared for him. Not all who were bitten survived the first transformation. He scratched where Brendon’s forming wolf ears met his forming skull. Brendon looked pretty grotesque, but it was normal. How this was normal would seem unfathomable to regular people, but once you were a werewolf, you’d pretty much seen it all. Spencer’s next pat hovered an inch over Brendon when he stopped dead in his tracks, feeling the…pulse, for lack of a better word, course through every inch of him. His hand curled into a fist and he looked up at the fully calm Gerard. 

“Go shift,” Gerard suggested, not that Spencer had a choice. He gave a longing look at Brendon, who just finished a string of half-comprehendible curses, and felt so unwilling to leave him, but it wasn’t a suggestion. “I’ll take care of him,” Gerard promised and Spencer’s robotic body took him over to another section of the room. Spencer stripped, laid down, and let the pain take him into blackness.

\--------------------------------------------  
Brendon’s POV.

He had to be dead. He just had to be. He was suffering in hell right now, and the devil was granting him no mercy. He was burning, he was being beaten, and he couldn’t control himself. All he felt was just pain. Probably death.

Hell sucked. 

The worst part was, weirdly, not being able to feel himself. He couldn’t tell when he yelled. He couldn’t tell when he thrashed. All he could see was the occasional glimpse of Gerard. Alpha. Yes. Another was there, _Spencer_ he reminded himself, trying to soothe him. It didn’t work, Brendon didn’t feel it much. Just pain. Painpainpain. Like every single sort of torture at once.   
The thing was, when it was gone, Brendon didn’t believe it. It was a trick. He’d felt it for so long. He lay completely still, his eyes closed.Then he realized. It was gone. He was free. He was going to run and-

Brendon opened his eyes to stare straight at Gerard. Gerard’s eyes were glowing a bright green. _Alpha._ Instinctually, Brendon rolled and exposed his belly, the ultimate submission. Gerard shook his head. “Go on, Brendon. Go see how Spencer is.” Brendon scrambled to his feet while Gerard watched him lope over to the other side of the basement. Brendon could hear bones cracking and knew Gerard had to be shifting, but he was told to look after Spencer. Brendon approached the still form of Spencer, who was just getting the final touches in his shift. Impulsively, he nosed Spencer on the shoulder. He received a grumpy-sounding growl in response. 

Unimpressed, Brendon nosed him again and huffed. Spencer was up on his feet in a flash, staring Brendon down with green eyes. Not Gerard’s green. Darker. But glowing, nonetheless. So apparently, full moons just made Spencer grumpy in general. Brendon tried one more time, dropping into a playful bow. Spencer just turned around and well, Brendon’s natural playfulness would have none of it. He playfully left forward and nipped Spencer’s flank, but didn’t exactly receive the response he wanted. Spencer turned around before Brendon could process what he was doing and took Brendon by the neck, legitimately biting. It wasn’t until Brendon was whining out loud that he let go and proceeded to start pacing the basement. Gerard wasn’t in a good mood these nights either, but he was a little more sociable than Spencer.

Eight boring hours later, Brendon realized he’d sorta forgotten this whole shifting thing went both ways. What made him remember was seeing Spencer go first. Gerard snuck off to go do the whole –somewhat-free-will shift but Brendon watch Spencer for all of thirty seconds before it totally overtook him too. He sunk down next to the growling Spencer, and let the pain take him over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, HUGE plot twist. -rubs hands-


	6. everything

Finally, Brendon opened his eyes. “Oh thank god.” Spencer sighed with relief as he clutched the shaking form of Brendon. Without thinking, Spencer pulled his up into his lap, not minding at all they were both stark naked. Brendon was mumbling some nonsense right now and lightly pushing at Spencer, but he was just so weak and exhausted it had no effect on Spencer. 

After two minutes, Brendon finally piped up.

“Fuck,”

Spencer snorted. “Historical first words,”

“Sh’up,” Brendon mumbled. “Clothes,”

“You’re going to have to get used to it,” Spencer remarked but tugged Brendon up onto his feet and led him to the cabinet, handing him a spare-spare set of clothes they had. They were a little too big for Brendon, but they’d be taking care of that today. Spencer put on his spare set of clothes and looked at Brendon. “Gee’s making breakfast. Smells like…burritos,” It took him a second to recognize the scent. See, a dog didn’t smell like a human did, they smelled all the individual ingredients rather than just the food. It looked like Gerard ran out of ideas. Brendon’s stomach chose that time to rumble loudly – granted, it didn’t have to be loud to be audible to Spencer, but still. He looked embarrassed and Spencer didn’t laugh at him to add to that, just beckoned him upstairs. 

Only Ray was in the kitchen with Gerard when they got back upstairs. If Spencer listened super closely, he could hear Frank and Mikey outside. Having been werewolves for as long as they were, Ray and Gerard knew how to whisper. They were having some sort of hushed conversation, but when Spencer caught the “S” that nobody can whisper quietly, he understood one word of it: “silver”. He swallowed but tried to do them the courtesy of not listening in.

Mikey and Frank came through the back door just then, breaking off the leader’s conversation. Mikey grinned at Brendon and nodded his head “You made it,” he commented. Brendon gave a confused look to Spencer, but Spencer chose wisely not to mention to Brendon there was a chance he could have actually died last night.

Brendon seemed to be fitting in really well already. He was chatting up the table even while inhaling his extra-large mostly-sausage-with-a-little-egg burrito.

“I know I got a rabbit just by the taste in my mouth,” Frank commented to Brendon- it was noted that a moon-crazed werewolf didn't care much for the vegetarian preference.

Brendon’s eyes opened wide. “Dude, Spencer is totally the grumpiest werewolf. See these?” Brendon pointed to the back of his neck. There were very, very faint puncture marks, healing like they should. “He totally bit me after I begged him to play with me,”

It was the second breakfast in a row Spencer nearly choked on his burrito. All of the table but Frank was now staring at Brendon, but Frank was so in the moment.

“Only you would ask to play-“ Frank’s eyes then opened with realization.

Brendon finally looked around. “What? Did I say something?”

Spencer couldn’t find the words, so Ray filled in for all of the table. “Brendon, you shouldn’t be able to remember that. Anything,”

There was a long silence with no movement from any wolf. Gerard’s face kept changing with his thoughts. 

“But I…I do. Everything,”

Everybody stared at Gerard now, and his face clearly showed his surprise, which was a new look for Gerard. Breakfast was going cold, but nobody cared. Gerard kept looking over Brendon and everybody else was looking at Gerard. 

“What the hell, Brendon,” Gerard shook his head. “I don’t..know…” he stumbled over. This was almost the first time anybody heard those words out of Gerard’s mouth. He knew…well, a lot more than anybody else here did about werewolves. And he didn’t know what was up with Brendon. Gerard stiffened. “Spencer, go to school and get yours and Brendon’s things and get the hell back here,” Gerard said. Another rare occurrence: Gerard tried his best every time to get Spencer to school. Spencer nodded, stuffed down the last of his burrito and practically ran out of there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> told you. plot twist. Mwahaha.  
> And who else is seeing the beginning of a pairing tag happening?


	7. what Gerard does best

-Gerard POV-

Gerard only sat at the bar for half a minute more, stuck. God, he was frustrated. He thought he’d made a werewolf. And he HAD, but why the hell was Brendon able to remember everything? Gerard had to know. He just had to. Angry mostly at himself for not knowing, he growled and headed up the stairs to his bedroom in a very dramatic exit, abandoning his plate. 

He didn’t waste half a second in making it over to his library. Gerard’s room was bland, but nobody could really say he was into interior decoration. The one thing that outlined a good portion of one of his walls was a library of every semi-accurate werewolf book he could get his hands on. 

Three hours later, Gerard was still locked in his room, his eyes searching restlessly over pages and pages of material. He heard Spencer coming back a long time ago, could hear all of his pack doing whatever they pleased. Right now, Mikey was strumming his acoustic, Ray and Spencer were engaged in a debate with Brendon over who ate the most peanut butter and Frank had slipped out sometime earlier to go do whatever Frank does. He looked back down at the book and growled with more frustration. Nothing. Slamming it closed, he realized he was out of books in this stack. He rubbed his eyes and looked outside his window.

Suddenly, it dawned on him. Gerard had inherited this house from his father, the last pack leader, when he died. He’d never gotten the chance to tell Gerard everything. Somewhere in this house, there had to be something, some books or pictures. Something that was meant for Gerard. Sure it was a far-out possibility, but Gerard was willing to try about anything. 

So Gerard did what Gerard did best. Gerard closed his eyes and just sensed. Just channeled all his senses, erased his thoughts, just sensed. He didn’t quite know what propelled him at all, and in retrospect, probably looked really stupid. When he came to full consciousness again, Gee was in the basement. His right hand was outstretched, touching a patched-up hole. Sure, Gerard had seen it, but just thought it was damage from one of the previous wolves that had been trapped down here. He put his hand down and was well aware of Brendon, Ray, and Spencer watching him from the stairs. Pausing for half a second, Gerard looked at the boards with slight disbelief, but it was better than what he had before.

Gerard pried away the boards carefully. When the last one came out, so did a cloud of dust and he turned his head and coughed into his sleeve. When he looked up again, the dust had settled, and there it was. He reached in and pulled out the book. It was dusty, slightly rotted, with a cover of aged brown leather, but there it was. He prayed that it was the answer. He didn’t even move out of the basement when he started to flip though it. First was just the basics Gerard knew about the werewolf species. Then it listed his father’s pack structure, which Gerard knew some about, but flipped right by because he just wasn’t that interested in it. Then there was a map documenting their territory, a few pack enemies lists (which Gerard made a note to look up later), more notes on what his father found out about werewolves…Gerard was about to give up but flipped one more time.

Alpha.

Beta.

. 

 .

 .

Omega.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmm. Shall we learn about the mysterious Omega? This is a short chapter, limited action, but it's necessary.


	8. prized

_Omegas are the rarest type of wolf with rank. There is a one in 10,000 chance of being a born Omega, and the statistic for being a bitten Omega does not even exist._

_Omegas are the peacekeepers of the pack. They have a remarkable ability to prevent conflict. However, what Omegas are most prized for is their ability to heal others. Omegas, if they develop their ability enough, may even be able to take pain from someone if they are willing. They should be closest to and working with the Alpha of the pack they belong in, for they possess the Alpha memory._

_The problem with Omegas is they are highly prized for their healing ability. There has been the occasional rumor that their blood may even be able to cure another werewolf. Whether this is true or not is still up in the air, but if you have an Omega in your pack, protect him with your life._

_Omegas are best marked by their luminescent silver eyes. Look closely enough into their bipedal form’s eyes and they still may have a small gleam of silver. Omegas tend to be positive, cheery, and normally in a good mood at any point, even during the full moon  
Omegas are…susceptible to...tr...ry...and…_

Gerard couldn’t make out anything else. The page was blotted with water from there on out. It was a whole quarter of the page, too. Gerard swayed back and forth on his feet right there in his basement, closing the book but putting a finger to mark the page as he trooped upstairs.

“Get Frank here _now_ ,” Gerard growled. All three pulled out their phones and Gerard realized he should probably clarify that. “ _Ray_ ,” and Spencer and Brendon looked over to Ray as he dialed the number. Ray walked off as he put the phone up to one ear and his hand on the other. Gerard moved to the living room and paced as he waited. 

“Frank’s five minutes out!” Ray called to Gerard as Mikey thumped down the stairs. They started to claim couches in the living room, Spencer and Brendon on one and Mikey and Ray claiming another. Frank came in five minutes later on the dot, and it was obvious he’d somehow managed to get into another fight. Gerard was sort of pissed, but he’d talk to Frank later. He had a more urgent issue on hand. Frank claimed the spot on the other side of Brendon.

Gerard wasn’t quite sure where to begin. So many things were happening in the course of approximately twenty-four hours that it was getting out of hand. Gerard opened the book to the page his finger was stuck in.

“I figured out why Brendon is…different,”

 

\---------------  
BRENDON POV

So Brendon was some sort of…Omega. Everybody in the room looked surprised. Nobody knew a damn thing about him.

Wonderful.

Not only was he something he barely knew anything about, he was also something the people were supposed to be helping him with it barely knew about. Probably because he was…rare. Apparently, bitten Omegas were non-existent. And yet, here was Brendon, with freakish silver eyes and a freakish ability to cure people’s wounds. And possibly their lycanthropy status. 

Brendon wasn’t a hundred percent sure how he was going to cope with all this. It sounded ridiculous, but well, so was the last 24 hours.  
“We’ve got to keep him from Stump,” Gerard kept insisting.

He was some sort of prize for this “Stump”. You know, the one they never told him about. Apparently, they were in a long-standing, nearly-bloody conflict. Even as a supposed pack peacekeeper, he wasn’t sure what to think of that.

Oh, and apparently, Gerard had a thing for a dramatic exit. Whether he meant it or not was a mystery, bur he really did. He ended his speech with a very serious look.  
“This changes...everything,” Gerard stated, shaking his head.

Frank was more intrigued than shaken by the whole thing. He leaned over to Brendon. “Duuude. Could you heal me? I mean, like, let’s see if it’s true!”

Brendon looked over Frank. His bruises since he came in had visibly gotten better and better, and his cuts weren’t bleeding. He swallowed. “I’m not really sure…how,”  
Frank made a whining sound. “C’mon! Just try it!”

Brendon was hesitant in touching a large bruise that covered much of Frank’s upper arm. Frank didn’t even flinch; he just had the goofiest smile. Well…what was he supposed to do? Wish it away? Brendon tried that but to no avail. He dropped his hand.

“I really don’t know...” he shook his head. He felt Spencer’s hand touch his arm.

“It’s okay, you’ll figure it out,” Spencer reassured. “We’ll all figure it out,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my. A water-stained journal entry. And a whole quarter page. Who knows what might have been contained in this?  
> Mwahaha.


	9. a scent and a sound

Spencer had to admire Brendon. He really was figuring it out. The third night had gone relatively well for him, not that Spencer himself remembered, but Brendon was chatty. Spencer had gone back to school with Brendon on Monday, and he dove right back in, claiming sickness for his absence on Friday. 

It was Thursday, the one-week mark of Brendon’s transformation. Spencer made every effort possible to shush Brendon from alluding to his new trait, and Brendon was being cooperative. Spencer sat down at lunch by himself when Brendon slid his tray next to Spencer. The actual surprise was the three other trays that were placed on the chipped-and-carved-faux-wood table. Brendon had brought…friends. Okay. That was weird. Spencer wasn’t regarded as cool, just lonely. Brendon was multitasking between stuffing his face with the hotdogs – ugh, could he really not smell how disgusting those things were-, chatting with his friends, and texting. He was busy gesturing some story about how his Government teacher had been nitpicky in class when his hand caught the phone and it slid to Spencer. Spencer picked it up to hand it back to him when it dinged in his hand, and he caught a glimpse of the iPhone’s screen.

“Ryan Ross:  
Bowling alley sat?”

Spencer coughed and received all the stares from Brendon’s friends. “I’ve got to talk to him real fast,” Spencer rushed, lamely. He dragged Brendon by the arm, with much protest, to right outside the cafeteria. 

“What the hell?” Brendon frowned.

“Dude, you’re not supposed to talk to that guy!” Spencer exclaimed.

“He’s new in town!”

“Brendon, you really shouldn’t socialize with other wolves. Especially that one.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You couldn’t smell him?”

“I met him last Monday when he was buying a map at the gas station, for god’s sake, Spencer!”

Spencer wanted to slam his head against a wall. “You’re not going to the alleys with him on Saturday,”  
“Why?” Brendon’s voice hitched on the edge of a whine.

“Because you’re supposed to come explore pack borders with us on Saturday anyway.” Spencer made up. Gerard now had something to do on Saturday. “And, fuck, don’t tell him _anything_ ,” Spencer said with the unmistakable listen-or-die tone.

\---------------

True to his word, Brendon didn’t say anything. And he didn’t go on Saturday to the bowling alley. Spencer walked next to Brendon, following behind Mikey who was just eager to get out. Frank was lollygagging way behind inside, stuffing his face with a microwave veggie burger sandwich, though he’d be out quick, and Gerard and Ray walked to the side from quite a good distance.

Brendon knew the territory was big by human standards, but hadn’t thought it was small by wolf standards. “Small,” he repeated, with disbelief. They’d been walking for fifteen minutes and still hadn’t made it to the border. At least a mile. Where DID Gerard manage to get all this land from? Their city wasn’t horribly-crowded-urban, but it wasn’t common for people to have this much land. Finally, Brendon’s nose caught the scent. He wrinkled his nose and Spencer laughed.

“What’d you think Gerard did in his free time? Play Sudoku?” Spencer joked. Mikey cracked up, Frank howled, and Gerard glared at Spencer. They continued to walk close to the border, chatting away, and Brendon figured he was getting the idea of the pack scent.

That was when they happened on the neutral ground. His scents got all screwed up and he blinked in confusion. The whole pack banded closer by instinct with Gerard and Ray in front. Omega or not, Brendon was still the baby of the pack. He stood right behind Frank, and flicked him on the shoulder. Frank caught his look.

“This is where pack territories meet. See the tree lines? In the middle of those trees is a strip where any wolf can be with no consequence. Sort of…the rules are weird,” Well, that wasn’t helpful at all.

Brendon rolled his eyes but kept looking over past the second line of trees. He just had this…feeling something was there. Spencer kept glancing over like he saw something, too. Gerard didn’t catch their looks though. Once they got past the neutral territory border and the mixed scents cleared up, Brendon didn’t seem to have that feeling anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg, all these boys are so fun to write. Like, I had the best time with Brendon being a social butterfly while Spencer's like... *cricket*. I couldn't find an end to this one...so I pretty much just stopped and said "shoving this on now". lol.
> 
> Something seems to be amiss in the air...


	10. match

“You gotta give him credit, Gerard works fast,” Pete commented. “We only got Ryan two weeks ago and he’s got a newly-bitten wolf under control,”

Patrick shook his head, looking at the blurry snapshot taken just an hour ago. The face was hard to make out, but Gerard’s pack wasn’t very social and would never invite humans, therefore, it had to be a wolf. Patrick had accounted for retaliation, but he just hadn’t counted on it so quick. It sort of impeded his on-the-spot outnumbering plan. He drummed his fingers on the counter.

“I’m not giving him any sort of credit,” Patrick frowned. 

“Yeah, uh…good luck with that,” Pete took as an excuse to get to his room. Patrick sighed and continued to stare at the paper and the blurry image as if It was going to magically give him ideas. 

It was then Ryan strolled into the kitchen casually to his own humming, opening the fridge at his leisure. He took out a Coke and popped it open. He spun around on his heels to come face-to-face with a non-amused Patrick. And took it all in stride as he strolled over to the counter, sliding the picture over to him with two fingers.

“What’cha doin’?” Ryan finally asked as he squinted at the picture. Ryan didn’t really know how to be casual if the heavy eyeliner he chose for today and the overly-cheery mood said anything. He squinted at the picture. 

“You know who that is?” 

“Sorta looks familiar. Can’t be sure,” Ryan shrugged. Patrick didn’t know what was up with the fragments, but he didn’t ask.

Patrick really did want to at least know his name. He could work from there. 

“Ryan, how would you feel about being an overly-enthusiastic student council member?”

-

So it turns out sneaking into a school was super easy. They didn’t check for student ID’s, all the teachers that strolled by just assumed they didn’t have Ryan in one of their classes, and nobody was the wiser. Nobody even asked him if he was new. He went into the office.

“What’s up, kid?”

He’d practiced this so many times. He smiled. “Student council would love to help students that have been absent lately catch up with work,” On a side note, Ryan thought that was the lamest idea ever, but it seemed like it would at least get by. 

“You know the rules on hoodies, then,” the little old white-haired receptionist whose tag proclaimed “Petunia Kilson” chastised.

“Oh, yes ma’am,” Ryan tugged off the hood. 

“So what do you need?”

“A list of recent absences? Especially unexcused,” Ryan gulped.

“I’m not really supposed to, but I suppose it’s for a good cause. Tell Ms. Holder I said hello, would you?”

“Of course,”

Damn, it _had_ worked. Ryan grinned to himself as he walked out with the sheet and tugged the hoodie back on. 

Turns out it was just as simple to get out.

-  
Ryan, with a victorious smile, set the list in front of Patrick. As if he had come up with the idea, he held himself high. “It worked like a charm!”

Patrick’s eyes scanned over the list, and he dug for a highlighter in a random drawer, uncapped it and held the cap in between his teeth, and dragged the highlighter over the days of the full moon, starting with Spencer’s name because he knew that much at the very least.

_9/5/12 ID693 Spencer Smith: Illness_  
 _9/6/12 ID341 Klaudia Heinser: Family-Related Emergency_  
 _9/6/12 ID420 Robert Killinger: Illness_  
 _9/6/12 ID693 Spencer Smith: Unexcused Absence (Classes 7 and 8 marked absent)_  
 _9/6/12 ID489 Brendon Urie: Unexcused Absence (Classes 7 and 8 marked absent)_  
 _9/6/12 ID204 Lance Hayes: School-related trip_  
(Patrick skipped the next eighteen school-related trip excuses, of course)  
 _9/7/12 ID101 Nancy Low: Illness_  
 _9/7/12 ID693 Spencer Smith: Illness_  
 _9/7/12 ID489 Brendon Urie: Illness_

Patrick found his match.

Ryan’s face drained of pretty much all color. “Shit,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehe.  
> So I hope you wanted a chapter from a new perspective, because that's what you got. Patrick isn't all evil, but he is a genius.  
> Ryan's fun to write. Ryan's a total pessimist, his emotions go up and down, and well, it's his eyeliner phase. Loving it on all accounts.  
> And you know Ryan sneaking into Spencer and Brendon's school is going to be a total mess.


	11. me and my gang

Typical Mondays. A flurry of kids talked about what they’d done over the weekend, a few were scribbling homework down from other friends’ papers, very few were in the library checking out books, and the rest were idly chatting at their lockers. Brendon walked in with Spencer, smiling. That lasted about half a second before he wandered off to chat with his friends.

Spencer went to his locker, barren except for scattered papers and a few textbooks. He threw in all that was in his backpack and only pulled out his music binder he had for Band next period. 

An hour later, Spencer was picking up all his band stuff. He’d barely gotten to touch the drumsticks. Today was more geared toward the woodwinds, apparently. Then, a loud voice came over the PA- almost deafening to Spencer, but It had to be heard over the loud hallways. 

“Would Spencer Smith and Brendon Urie please report to the office?”

Fuuuuuuck. Spencer was fine with being in trouble, but as far as he knew, Brendon’s record was clean. 

When he got into the office, Spencer nearly stopped short. He hadn’t smelled it before in the flurry of scents, but the wolf he was smelling was most definitely not Brendon. Brendon was already in one of the two blue semi-padded chairs that faced Principal James’ desk. Spencer tried his best not to let it bother him, but he really, really needed to get this to Gerard. Spencer took his seat next to Brendon.

He spun the monitor around that showed the absence list, highlighting both of their names. Twice. With the same description.

“Mr. James, I can-“

“I’m not done,” 

He played a grainy security camera feed that showed them exiting the building on Thursday through a side door.

They sat in silence a long moment, Mr. James eyeing both of them, Brendon looking like a scolded puppy, and Spencer well…Spencer didn’t care much. Excuses started to form in Spencer’s head.

“I nay have expected this from you, Spencer. But Brendon? You’re a...decent student with no past problems,” Mr. James pointed out to the very, very puppy-like Brendon.

“Mr. James, it’s my fault. Don’t punish Brendon. I was trying to get him some help for the bites from the dog he was attacked by that morning,”

“He was attacked?” Mr. James inquired, looking at the fully-healed werewolf.

“Um, yeah, you can see his nurse records or whatever,”

“It’s still not an acceptable excuse for leaving the school. I’ll see both of you in the cafeteria after school,” he decided.

Oh, little miracles that he hadn’t asked. Spencer was out of there. He stopped short, having forgot the unidentified werewolf. “Was…somebody here?” Spencer asked lamely to the receptionist. 

“Lots of people have been here, Spencer, you’ll have to be more specific,” She knew Spencer by name because of all the time he’d managed to land himself in the office.

“Whatever,” he said, exiting the office with his excuse note. He slid in late to Physics in his seat in the back of the room and proceeded to text Gerard

_Something’s wrong_  
 _Wht?_  
 _There was a scent @ the office. Not bden or me._  
 _Wolf?_  
 _Y._  
 _Could b bad – keep an eye out._  
 _Bden and I also got detention aftr skool._  
 _Idiots._

Spencer pretty much sensed that was the end to this conversation.

Brendon hadn’t given up on his cause to make Spencer socialize. Spencer surely couldn’t talk to him with all these people around, so he had to literally text the person sitting right next to him.

_This morning, I caught a scent at the office. Wolf, not one of us._  
 _Who?_  
 _IDK. Gee said keep an eye out._

Fast forward two classes, and Spencer wished with every part of him he could be home. He threw all the unnecessary books in his locker and texted his mother that he was staying after school and left it at that.

He again arrived after Brendon and was handed a scraper, a Styrofoam cup, and gloves. Gum scraping, wonderful. Spencer sighed, looked at the sea of tables, and walked over and knelt in front of the first one.

Spencer came into the front door , dropping his backpack. The wonderful smell of garlic and chicken wafted through the house,

“Hey mom,” Spencer called.

“Look who’s home. Finally. How was the sleepover?”

Spencer made his way into the kitchen, stealing one of the already-baked rolls. “Fine,”

“Spencer, you’ve been gone for four days, I was hoping for more than ‘fine’,” 

“I…uh…same as usual,”

“Not much better. Go wash your hands,”

Spencer did and then sat down with his mother. A savory garlic-and-brown-sugar chicken breast, green beans, a helping of mashed potatoes, and two rolls adorned his plate. He dug in immediately, more hungry than he realized. 

They ate in silence for a bit before Spencer noticed his mom looking at him. He didn’t normally start conversation but…it was his mother, after all. 

“So..uh…how was your weekend?”

“It was quiet around here. I got a lot of cleaning done,” she remarked as she stuck a forkful of green beans into her mouth.

They fell into awkward silence again. Something was just a little off, his mother kept looking at him and looking away quickly when he looked at her, as if she had something to say. Spencer swallowed the last of his potatoes and was about to get up when his mother finally worked up the words.

“What exactly do you have yourself into?” She asked with a hint of an accusation.

“I’m not into anything. We just..ah..watch sports together. Video games. Y’know, that stuff,”

“Spencer, are you in a gang?”

“Oh god no-“

“Are you?” she asked, her voice rising.

“No!” He said, his voice hinting at a growl.

“Spencer James Smith, I swear to God, if you’re not telling me the truth…

Spencer legitimately snarled. A flat-out wolf-like snarl. He immediately regretted it and covered his own mouth as if that would take it back. His eyes widened as they locked eyes for one or two seconds, before Spencer turned and bolted for his room. Shit, he just snarled at his _mother._ Normal people didn’t snarl. Spencer sat on his bed, putting his face in his hands.

Yeah, sometimes being a werewolf really sucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can honestly say this chapter is very bad. but I just needed to write so...yeah.  
> By the way, when I text in real life, I do actually type every letter out with punctuation. It was so, so hard to write the texts. lol.


	12. family hates

Brendon shakily unlocked his door. He could hear the yelling from far away, but pretended he was as deaf as he was when he was still human. The yelling immediately stopped when the door squeaked open, and it took every ounce of what Brendon had for strength not to cry.

They thought he didn’t know.

They thought he didn’t know about the fights. His dad was a bastard, but there were few people in the world who could stand to see Brendon cry if they knew him well enough.

Brendon swallowed and walked into the house, once he had walked through the hallway, he came into view of his parents. His mom appeared to be towel-drying a pot, his father had his arms folded looking at her. Brendon made an effort to put on a smile. He went to his room in the back area of the house. Of course, the house was huge; he used to have four siblings to share it with. However, being the youngest, they were off at college or somewhere in their lives. It was actually creepily silent, what was once cheers and giggles and yelps was now just…silent.

Maybe it was better that way. It was a blessing that they didn’t know. Brendon had known even before he was bitten, now the verbal abuse was just more audible. 

One more year, he could make it. Then he’d graduate and go off to cosmetology school and live a normal life. Dress hair, maybe find someone to fall in love with. Just another average Joe. He really didn’t have plans beyond that. 

Brendon pulled his Physics workbook out of his backpack and opened it up to the page of scrawled notes and arithmetic. He chewed on the end of the clicky pen as he tried to scramble over calculating velocity and all that crap, but his concentration seemed to be fading from the project. And really fast, if the new drawing of a cartoon ninja next to a problem about the acceleration of a spacecraft said anything.

Brendon finally just sort of gave up and closed the book, looting around his haphazardly-kept room for the box of Cheese-Its. Goodness, did they have enough food in the house to feed him now? His appetite had increased substantially, and the Way household had multiple refrigerators for a reason. 

\-------------------------------------

Ryan was adjusting fast, and adjusting well. Patrick noticed his swings in moods, but right now, he was passing the bottle of Jack around too. He was quiet, but he at least wasn’t avoiding the group. He had a spell last week where he refused to see them for three days after he found out Brendon was Gerard’s new addition. Even now, he looked a little worried. 

Pete was being friendly with the bottle tonight. Joe nudged Patrick. “Ten bucks says I can make Pete strip his shirt, draw a face on his chest, and get him to post it on his own Twitter,” Patrick had to wonder somewhere where this idea was coming from. The other part said “Deal,” and Joe set off to pursue his goal.

Patrick swallowed down his glass, staring at one of his walls while his pack talked and laughed. It was a picture of his father, smiling back with the younger version of Patrick. He glared spitefully at the picture as if it would zap away the fact that he’d never feel that again. 

No, but neither would Gerard. These two packs’ mess went back far…before they ever met. Long before either he or Gerard were born. Long before their grandfathers, even. Each generation was getting stronger, carrying on the bloody conflict. The last had ended in a severe tragedy on both sides that the Alphas fought each other to death, quite literally. It left Patrick and Gerard to step up young, and family hates were almost as ingrained as family traits.

He was holding the glass a little too tightly, he realized when the pressure made it crack but not break. It barely caught anybody’s attention when he got up to pace. Patrick was good at thinking, he just had to be moving to do it. Whatever Patrick did, Gerard had counteracted it too quickly. Whatever Gerard did, Patrick couldn’t seem to keep up as fast as he did. It was frustrating, but they were evenly matched now.

Maybe that was a sign. If Gerard got anymore, Patrick wouldn’t risk exposing himself like Gerard had biting Brendon. Patrick would have to move now. He already knew that on Saturday mornings, Gerard’s pack ran their border. 

Time to go face-to-face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I really wanted a history chapter. Sorry this took me so long to churn out, but you've got two backgrounds now. Apparently, fathers just don't get along with me. >_>


	13. pain

“Dude, Ray’s like...a genius with Government,” Brendon said, holding up the test neatly marked with a 92. “He could totally teach, like, if he wasn’t so busy managing a pack-“

“Brendon!”

“Right, sorry,”

Friday afternoons were a relief. No more having to keep up appearances. Spencer was intent on just getting out of the door and constantly had to pull Brendon, who kept stopping to socialize, along with him. Spencer’s head was killing him, and it was a relief that he knew the drug dogs weren’t in this week because he had to sneak some not-quite-Advil painkillers in for him and Brendon. 

Spencer’s weekender bag was already at Gerard’s, so we walked home with Brendon because of course, Brendon had to forget. He had to grit his teeth in chagrin in order to avoid snapping at poor Brendon.

“I just don’t see how you could not notice that ‘oh, it’s a full moon night.’ It even comes with a side of feeling like you have a bad hangover,” Spencer grumbled.

“Um…yeah…” Brendon dropped the conversation as he dug around in his back pocket for his keys to unlock the door.

So Spencer hadn’t expected the house to be so big. It looked pretty normal on the outside, but it was huge for a family of three. 

“I have four siblings,” Brendon grinned to Spencer’s astonishment. “I’m just the youngest, y’know.” Spencer nodded, his eyes catching all the family photos displayed as they went to the back of the house. Brendon had his own little area with his siblings being gone. Spencer was led into Brendon’s room. It was messy, which he sort of expected from the disorganized werewolf, but not as messy as Spencer’s. Brendon had random posters hung about: some bands, some cars, and a Chicago Cubs team logo poster to mix it up. Spencer stood in the doorway as Brendon methodically grabbed a bag and threw in some clothes, his phone, his iPod, and their respective charging cords.

Brendon was just zipping the bag up when he noticed Brendon’s pause as his face went white for a few long seconds. “Brendon?”

Brendon’s shudder said it all. “It hurts,”

Spencer didn’t mean to snap, but he wasn’t in his best mood these days. “Your body’s about to undergo a change that breaks every bone, tears muscle and skin, and reforms your organs. Yes, I think it might hurt,” In Spencer’s defense, it wasn’t like he wasn’t feeling it too. Brendon looked mildly hurt, but didn’t keep the look as he slung the backpack over his shoulder and scribbled a note for his mom, leaving it on the kitchen counter.

Spencer had a good sense of nearly everything in the city. Like, right now, he was getting them to Gerard’s the shortest way possible by scent and memory, even though he’d only been to Brendon’s part of town a few times before. Within twenty minutes of walking, they were breaking the forest that secluded Gerard’s house from public eyes. Spencer, per usual, invited himself in and Brendon followed suit. 

Gerard apparently felt fancy, if it was evident by the slabs of venison that decorated the non-vegetarian werewolves’ plates. (Even Brendon said he didn’t understand how Frank could eat a salad.) It somehow ended up into an actual conversation – the pack had gotten a lot more chatty since Brendon joined- about what movies Mikey would be in if he were a movie star. It seemed to help distract Brendon however much they could from the pain, so that was perfectly fine with Spencer. 

\--------------

Mikey was pretty certain they should have all seen it coming. He himself had gone through the same thing, and it wasn’t pretty. Brendon was full-out panicking. What brought this on? Mikey could only guess the pain had gotten worse and he remembered last month. Brendon was shaking all over, crying, and repeating over and over again,

“I can’t do this!” 

They’d sort of given Brendon to Mikey, with Ray right beside him. None of them in the room could really judge Brendon, they’d all had their doubts once. It was just that Mikey and Ray together made an awesome calming-down pair. 

“Brendon, it’s okay. You’ve already survived it. You’ll be okay,” Ray kept saying, trying to soothe Brendon. It wasn’t really working much, Brendon was terrified.

“Brendon, you can’t fight it. That will only make it worse,” Mikey pointed out. He was sort of wondering where Brendon’s infectious optimism went, but then again, he was going through hell and back, so optimism was probably gone at this point. 

Gerard sat quietly. Brendon would be quiet soon enough. 

Frank glanced outside. He felt the itching, the want to shift, even though a small part of him still dreaded the pain. “He’s gonna start soon, Gerard. Where are we goin’?” he questioned. Frank knew the feeling, and Brendon was much newer, so he’d start a lot earlier than any of the pack.  
Gerard mused a moment. “Outside,”

“With...a new werewolf?”

“Eh, he’s an Omega. He seemed calm enough last month,”

It didn’t take much effort to carry Brendon- when he refused to move, of course- outside. Mikey took as much care of Brendon as he could until Spencer finished stuffing everybody’s clothes in the small outdoor shed. 

Spencer then came and took over. Right as he did so, Brendon curled up and growled, and Spencer knew it was time. Brendon would’ve sought Gerard if Gerard was close, but all the various wolves were standing around aimlessly, so Spencer was the closest person he could seek refuge with. Even being mildly annoyed, Spencer wouldn’t make Brendon any less dignified by snapping at him, he just wasn’t that type of person. He held Brendon’s head in his lap, which seemed to soothe him however slightly. Well, it could have been that Spencer was sort of massaging Brendon’s temples. 

Brendon didn’t look much different than a month ago. He looked pretty much as shitty, to be as nice as possible. About twelve minutes in, with the still-mostly-human-Brendon, Brendon’s eyes fluttered open. They were wet with tears and showed the humongous amount of pain Brendon was in, but Spencer was just astonished by his eyes. He’d seen them once, sure, but Brendon’s eyes were so…silver. Shining. They were so…well, _gorgeous._ Of course, all good things come to an end, and Brendon’s eyes rolled back into another wave of pain.

Right on time, at seventeen minutes again, Spencer’s shift started. 

And twenty minutes later, the hunt started with a howl. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wheelpppppp.  
> I'm waiting to see if a certain someone understands a certain reference. If not (or even if so, really), I have another certain reference for that certain someone in the next chapter.


	14. second moon

When Brendon came to in the morning, Spencer was hovering over him. Along with Mikey and Frank. All of them had sweats on, and Spencer tossed him a pair. Brendon slipped them on and was helped up by Mikey and Frank on shaky, still somewhat weak legs. After running on four, it took Brendon a second to readjust to two legs, but he at least made it to the house on his own. 

The sizzle of pancake batter was immediately audible to Brendon, as was the stronger sizzle of bacon and the lighter sizzle of eggs. Brendon wasn’t exactly as hungry as some of them. He remembered all the hunting numbers, actually. One small deer, three squirrels, two bunnies. Not anything special. Ray and Spencer were very possessive over food, unsurprisingly, and had gotten a good portion of the food, but everybody had some. It was surreal to Brendon that he could remember all this, even though he’d never known the other way. He had been on all fours less than an hour ago and now was sitting down to eat breakfast like any other normal human.

Brendon hadn’t really planned on being a werewolf in the first place. He really hadn’t planned on spending so much time away from his other friends, he realized as he checked his phone, which had blown up overnight. Seriously, he’d gotten five calls and thirty-two texts. Brendon took his time in answering the ones he could. He liked the guys, sure, but he really did have a great group of friends before. 

Around two hours later, the sun was high in the sky, and it was a little warmish. Ray whistled, literally like he was calling dogs, and everyone gathered around back. 

“Usual perimeter,” Gerard said simply and turned on his heel to lead. 

Brendon decided that he thought boundary-walking was _sorta boring,_ but he wouldn’t say it aloud. Spencer seemed a little irked about Brendon’s random energy as he darted about but stayed somehow behind Spencer, but that was Spencer on a full moon day for you. Brendon had been staring off at something when there was suddenly a silent flurry of action. 

Brendon couldn’t tell what was going on, just that they had hit the neutral territory and oh, who was that? Soon enough, he realized he was hidden behind the rest of the pack. Gerard was in front, Ray close behind him to his right, Mikey and Spencer stood to Gerard’s right, and Spencer was behind Ray to form a sort of arrow point. Well that happened fast. 

Mikey growled low beside him, and Brendon looked forward. Standing in neutral territory, right by their border, was another pack. Brendon recognized the scent of a bunch of werewolves, of course. This other pack smelled really repelling, actually. Not even repelling, really, Brendon just had this sense of “stay away”.

“The hell do you want, Stump?” Gerard sneered, folding his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this kind of stinks, I'm just a little...lost...on this story. XD  
> I'm trying.


End file.
